Diane Doty Averill
As Winter Slides into Spring
tulips take a deep breath
of warm air
then a stroke of light
touches each in turn
and as they open purple,
red, and orange
my yard is on fire.
The Home Owner’s Association rules
on house colors
---shades of grey and beige---
fly outside my vision. The neutered paint
I bought in compliance
swirls into new colors,
comes alive, and my brush finds new ways
as spring slides into summer
creates swarms of honey bees, a yellow flower
that sings soprano, green stars,
birds humming their aggressive iridescence,
a deep pink lily that laughs
among freckles and dew.
Completing the trim in crimson,
I dare anyone to throw paper missives,
mosquito-whine. I make my own rules,
I draw my own lines.
Diane Averill’s first book, Branches Doubled Over With Fruit, (University of Florida Press) was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award as was her second book, Beautiful Obstacles, (Blue Light Press.) She has also had three chapbooks published. Her work appears in many literary magazines such as "The Bitter Oleander," "Poetry Northwest," "Tar River," and most recently “The Avocet,” “Cirque,” “Mom Egg Review,’ “Santa Clara Review,” and “Sparks of Calliope.” Her work also appears in several anthologies. She is a graduate from the M.F.A. program and taught at Clackamas Community College until retirement.